German Dax rally outpaces FTSE in 2012 January 1, 2013 GERMAN blue chip companies roared ahead of their UK counterparts in 2012 after the Dax market index posted an increase almost five times the rise of the FTSE 100. The German list of premier companies reported its biggest jump in almost a decade in 2012, up 29 per cent, despite continued bartering over the Greek [...]
Lenders predict bridging loan spree in 2013 January 1, 2013 A DIFFICULT mortgage market will lead to an explosion in the use of short-term bridging loans, mortgage brokers said in a survey out this morning. Though mortgage lending is set to expand some 8.3 per cent in 2013, according to Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) predictions, the market will remain tight. This tightness will drive [...]
Banks already bouncing back from a disastrous year January 1, 2013 LAST year will be remembered as a terrible one for the banking industry. In previous articles I have described the wider impact scandals such as Libor-rigging had on the reputation of the industry as a whole. However, 2013 is a new year and consumer perception could be looking up for the likes of Barclays and [...]
Employment boom steams on into 2013 January 1, 2013 THE STEAM in the jobs market showed no signs of dissipating by the end of last year, according to data out this morning. UK jobseekers faced more job opportunities in the final three months of 2012 than at any point since records began three years ago, recruiter Reed said, with 81 per cent of sectors [...]
Boards ring the changes with new bosses January 1, 2013 SEVERAL firms including publisher Pearson and insurance group Aviva are ringing in the new year with a change of chief executive. Mark Wilson officially took the reins at Aviva yesterday, replacing Andrew Moss, who was felled by a shareholder rebellion over bonuses last May. New Zealand-born Wilson, who spent four years at the top of [...]
Crowdfunding set to skyrocket in new year January 1, 2013 INVESTMENT via the growing crowdfunding phenomenon is set to double in just two years, experts are predicting. Crowdfunding portals – which see individuals make small investments in companies or projects – will raise $3bn (£1.85bn) in 2013 compared to the $1.5bn raised in 2011, according to research from professional services firm Deloitte. Although it accounts [...]
Stephen Hawking joins battle of price comparison websites January 1, 2013 PRICE comparison website Go Compare yesterday unveiled Professor Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s most renowned physicists, as the star of its new TV advert. The coup is the latest move in an increasingly bizarre marketing war that has come to characterise the booming industry. Hawking, the former Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge University, [...]
WPP moves back to UK today January 1, 2013 FTSE 100 advertising giant WPP will become tax resident in the UK after more than four years in Ireland today, as it sets up a holding company in Jersey. The transfer, approved by shareholders last month, comes after changes to tax law ended the so-called “double taxation” on overseas profits. The move, which sees WPP [...]
Sony stops Japan PS2 production January 1, 2013 Sony has ceased production of the world’s all-time bestselling video games console, the PlayStation 2 (PS2), in Japan, after almost 13 years on sale. The move is bound to heighten speculation that the Japanese electronics giant is ramping up efforts on its next home video console, which will replace the PlayStation 3, although Sony did [...]
Shell drill ship grounds off Alaska January 1, 2013 A large drill ship belonging to oil major Shell ran aground off Alaska on Monday night after drifting in stormy weather, company and government officials said. The ship, the Kulluk, broke away from one of its tow lines on Monday afternoon and was driven to rocks just off Kodiak Island, where it grounded at about [...]
